"use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. McKinley did well in the border states of Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky. He made 27speeches, including seven in Omaha, the last concluding a few minutes before midnight. His program of prosperity through free silver struck an emotional chord with the American people in a way that McKinley's protective tariff did not. The majority felt exposed, crestfallen, and humiliated.[56]. Bryan always regarded that argument as the speech's most powerful part, despite the fame its conclusion would gain. After a candidate backed by the nascent Populists withdrew, Bryan defeated Connell for the seat by 6,700 votes (nearly doubling Connell's 1888 margin), receiving support from the Populists and Prohibitionists. [128] For the most part, Bryan ignored the attacks, and made light of them in his account of the 1896 campaign. For a more detailed treatment of the background to the currency question, see, For further information on the procedures of American political conventions, see, William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign, Attacks and Gold Democrats; the final days. If those in favor of honest money don't do something to offset its influence the country is going to the dogs. Their enthusiasm at the unrehearsed rear platform appearances and in the formal speeches was spontaneous and contagious. Although they nominated Bryan for president, they chose Georgia's Thomas E. Watson as vice-presidential candidate; some hoped Bryan would dump Sewall from his ticket. [27], Through early 1896, Bryan quietly sought the nomination. Decide to endorse William Jennings Bryan (Democratic candidate). (W.W. Norton & Company, 2018), William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner. Constitutional Rights Foundation, Spring 2010 (Volume 25, No. Roosevelt was extremely popular as president, and many thought he might reconsider and run as 1908 neared. [f] McKinley even won the urban vote in Nebraska. [126] In what Williams describes as "a political campaign that became an American legend",[106] Bryan traveled to 27 of the 45 states, logging 18,000 miles (29,000km), and in his estimated 600 speeches reached some 5,000,000 listeners. Advocates of free silver (or bimetallism) wanted the government to accept all silver bullion presented to it and to return it, struck into coin, at the historic value ratio between gold and silver of 16 to 1. Bryan did not; Senator Jones (as the new Democratic National Committee chairman, in charge of the campaign) stated, "Mr. Sewall, will, of course, remain on the ticket, and Mr. Watson can do what he likes. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. [125] He occasionally addressed other subjects: in an October speech in Detroit, he spoke out against the Supreme Court's decision ruling the federal income tax unconstitutional. Through 1895 and early 1896, Bryan sought to make himself as widely known as an advocate for silver as possible. [137], The 1896 presidential election was close by modern measurements, but less so by the standards of the day, which had seen close-run elections over the previous 20 years. In March 1898, two years into William McKinley's first term as president, he gave Spainwhich was in the midst of a brutal campaign of repression in . [129] Republican newspapers and spokesmen claimed that Bryan's campaign was expensively financed by the silver interests. After Bryan helped rally support behind Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential election, Wilson chose the now-elder Democratic statesman as his secretary of state. The Cleveland Democrats were temporarily weak, and the Southern-Mountain coalition was ready to hand. Palmer was a 79-year-old former Union general, Buckner a 73-year-old former Confederate of that rank; the ticket was the oldest in combined age in American history, and Palmer the second-oldest presidential candidate (behind Peter Cooper of the Greenback Party; Bryan was the youngest). In anticipation of a presidential campaign, he spent much of 1895 and early 1896 making speeches across the United States; his compelling oratory increased his popularity in his party. The increasing economic struggles of poor farmers during the 1870s and 1880s led to the Populist movement. A bowery had been built for the Fourth of July picnic and dance. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images). [85][86] Some of the Democratic political machines, such as New York's Tammany Hall, decided to ignore the national ticket and concentrate on electing local and congressional candidates. Ordinarily, it was torn down after that event. A friend of mine is a student of American religious history with a particular interest in William Jennings Bryan and the Populists. "[57] The Nebraska delegation waved red handkerchiefs as Bryan progressed to the podium;[56] he wore an alpaca sack suit more typical of Lincoln and the West than of Chicago. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1890, when he was just 30 years old, Bryan championed populist causes including the direct election of senators, graduated federal income tax and the free silver movement, which sought to expand the federal money supply by basing U.S. currency on silver as well as gold. Illinois Senator John M. Palmer was eager to be the presidential candidate, and the convention nominated him with Kentucky's Simon Bolivar Buckner as his running mate. [108] According to Stanley Jones in his study of the 1896 campaign, "Bryan expected that he alone, carrying to the people the message of free silver, would win the election for his party. Many Cleveland supporters decried Bryan as no true Democrat, but a fanatic and socialist, his nomination procured through demagoguery. It was badly received even by silver delegates, who wished to think of silver as a patriotic, national issue. Many of the silver men had not attended a national convention before, and were unfamiliar with its procedures. "[144] Williams believes that Bryan did better than any other Democrat would have, and comments, "The nominee of a divided and discredited party, he had come remarkably close to winning. There is no legal or constitutional requirement that the loser of a U.S. presidential election must concede. [1] As a judge's son, the younger Bryan had ample opportunity to observe the art of speechmaking in courtrooms, political rallies, and at church and revival meetings. [51], Once seated, Bryan went to the Platform Committee meeting at the Palmer House, displacing the Nebraska gold delegate on the committee. The book included (as foils to the title character) many of Chicago's most prominent men of business; some, such as banker and future Secretary of the Treasury Lyman Gage, issued denials that they had participated in any such lectures. Morgan noted, "full organization, [Republican] party harmony, a campaign of education with the printed and spoken word would more than counteract" Bryan's speechmaking. The shortness of the speech did not dismay the crowds, who knew his arguments well: they were there to see and hear William Jennings Bryanone listener told him that he had read every one of his speeches, and had ridden 50 miles (80km) to hear him, "And, by gum, if I wasn't a Republican, I'd vote for you. The answer was simple, Bryan told Abbothe had prepared a speech that would stampede the convention. [144] According to Kazin, "what is remarkable is not that Bryan lost but that he came as close as he did to winning. Loyal to Cleveland, they wanted to nominate him. [36] Historian James Barnes wrote of Bryan's preparations: The Nebraskan merely understood the political situation better than most of those who might have been his rivals, and he took advantage in a legitimate and thoroughly honorable manner of the existing conditions. [105], After the Democratic convention, Bryan had returned triumphantly to Lincoln, making speeches along the way. See. By August, many firms had gone bankrupt, and a special session of Congress convened, called by Cleveland to repeal the silver purchase act. "[52], On the morning of July 9, 1896, thousands of people waited outside the Coliseum, hoping to hear the platform debate. To this day, countless theater festivals around the world honor his work, students read more. [138] Palmer received less than 1% of the vote, but his vote total in Kentucky was greater than McKinley's margin of victory there. "[101] Many Populists saw the election of Bryan, whose positions on many issues were not far from theirs, as the quickest path to the reforms they sought; a majority of delegates to the convention in St. Louis favored him. That evening, Bryan dined with his wife and with friends. [4] Looking for a growing city in which his practice could thrive, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1887. Although not a landslide shift comparable to election swings in the twentieth century, McKinley's victory ended the pattern of close popular margins that had characterized elections since the Civil War. He ran for president a second time in 1900 and a third time in 1908, each time losing. [22][23] In the 17months between his departure from Congress and the Democratic National Convention in July 1896, Bryan travelled widely through the South and West, speaking on silver. [93] When Bryan was nominated on a silver platform, the Republicans were briefly gratified, believing that Bryan's selection would result in an easy victory for McKinley. The coalition of wealthy, middle-class and urban voters that defeated Bryan kept the Republicans in power for most of the time until 1932. William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan, winning 292 electoral votes to Bryan's 155. "[100] Populist Kansas Congressman Jerry Simpson wrote, "I care not for party names. It began as a simple courtesy, with a telegram that William Jennings Bryan sent. The economy failed to improve, and when the President in 1894 sent federal troops to Illinois to break up the Pullman Strike, he outraged even more Democrats. In addition to the frontrunners, other silver men were spoken of as candidates. Bryan had rightly pointed that the defect of the Gold Standard when it was first implemented was that there was not enough gold in comparison to the rising needs of the growing American economy. For the last decade of his life, he largely dedicated himself to reforming the nations moral and religious character. An ardent read more, A native of Tennessee, Al Gore served as vice president of the United States under President Bill Clinton from 1992 to 2000, after a long tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. According to Stanley Jones, The period of this tour, in the return from New York to Lincoln, was the high point of the Bryan campaign. This was not the case: the mining industry was seeing poor times, and had little money to donate to Bryan. With little money, poor organization, and a hostile press, Bryan was his campaign's most important asset, and he wanted to reach the voters by traveling to them. No delegation must be permitted to violate instructions given by a state convention. "I was a Democrat before the Convention and am a Democrat stillvery still. Any possible candidacy depended on silver supporters being successful in electing the bulk of convention delegates; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts. The campaign, as it proved, was badly organized: This was Jones' first national campaign, and the party structure in many states was either only newly in the control of silver forces, or in gold states wanted no part of the national ticket. He also argued in support of a graduated income tax, antitrust laws and other government regulation of business, womens suffrage and the prohibition of alcohol. He was a fine actor, with a justly famous voice, but was not a charlatan. After graduating from Illinois College, Bryan earned a law degree from the Union College of Law in Chicago in 1883. Most cities that were financial or manufacturing centers voted for McKinley. But the emergence of a brash, young politician, William Jennings Bryan, soon turned the. New York Senator Hill was next: the leading spokesman for gold, both gold and silver delegates quieted to hear him. [31] Most state conventions did not bind, or "instruct", their delegates to vote for a specific candidate for the nomination; this course was strongly supported by Bryan. Much of the blizzard of paper the Republican campaign was able to pay for concentrated on this area/ By September, this had its effect as silver sentiment began to fade. His enemies regarded him as an ambitious demagogue, but his supporters viewed him as a champion of liberal causes. Looking upon the loud Boies and Bland supporters, Bryan commented, "These people don't know it, but they will be cheering for me just this way tomorrow night. On this day in 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his rousing speech as a delegate to the Democratic convention declaring that mankind would not be "crucified on a cross of gold.". The minority had indicated its position. [69] In the midst of the crazed crowd, Altgeld, a Bland supporter, commented to his friend, lawyer Clarence Darrow, "That is the greatest speech I ever listened to. "[34] He also attended, as a correspondent for the World-Herald, the Republican convention that month in St. Louis. Bryan, an attorney and former Congressman, galvanized support with his Cross of Gold speech, which called for a reform of the monetary system and attacked business leaders as the cause of ongoing economic depression. McKinley was supported by middle-class and wealthy voters, urban laborers, and prosperous farmers; this coalition would keep the Republicans mostly in power until the 1930s. "[75] On the first ballot, Bryan had 137 votes, mostly from Nebraska and four southern states, trailing Bland who had 235; Boies was fourth with 67 votes and was never a factor in the balloting. Free silver especially resonated among farmers in the South and West, as well as miners. Party members in many states, including Nebraska, demanded inflation of the currency through issuance of paper or silver currency, allowing easier repayment of debt. On the fifth ballot, other states joined the Bryan bandwagon, making him the Democratic candidate for president.[76][77]. [41], Bryan's Nebraska delegation left Lincoln by train on July 5. Source (Popular Vote): .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}Leip, David. Born in 1860, Bryan grew up in rural Illinois and in 1887 moved to Nebraska, where he practiced law and entered politics. On April 22, 1893, the amount of gold in the Treasury dropped below $100million for the first time since 1879, adding to the unease. The Democrats lost control of both houses of Congress in the 1894 midterm elections, with a number of southern states, usually solid for the Democrats, electing Republican or Populist congressmen. voting restrictions what political restrictions did southern states place on african americans? William Jennings Bryan, The First Battle: A Story of the Campaign of 1896[78], At the Clifton House, Bryan's rooms were overwhelmed with those wishing to congratulate him, despite the efforts of police to keep the crowds at bay. In post-Civil War America, oratory was highly prized, and Bryan showed aptitude for it from a young age, raised in his father's house in Salem. Instead, he sought the Senate seat that the Nebraska legislature would fill in January 1895. He was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley. As the economic downturn continued, free silver advocates blamed its continuation on the repeal of the silver purchase act, and the issue of silver became more prominent. See, Last edited on 24 November 2022, at 01:09, United States presidential nominating convention, William McKinley 1896 presidential campaign, National Archives and Records Administration, Official Proceedings of the 1896 Democratic National Convention, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Jennings_Bryan_1896_presidential_campaign&oldid=1123490165, This page was last edited on 24 November 2022, at 01:09. An advocate for silver as possible the bulk of convention delegates ; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts of... 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